South Africa’s own Zaakir Badat steps into the EFC cage this Thursday, as he looks to defend his welterweight belt for the third time. Since re-signing with EFC, Badat has been on a tear and will fight in his fourth consecutive main event.
Standing at 5’9” and currently fighting at welterweight, Badat is a tank of a man. Surprisingly enough, as an amateur and even through his first two fights as a professional, he fought at light heavyweight. After signing with UAE Warriors, Badat decided it was time to move down to middleweight, where he went 2-2. So far, these are the only two losses he has suffered in his career, and after that second loss, he dropped weight classes once again. Badat has found his home at welterweight, as he is on a four-fight win streak with four finishes, and he captured the EFC belt.
Badat is a BJJ black belt, as well as the head instructor at his local gym, and it really shows in his fights. While BJJ is his bread and butter, Badat seems quite comfortable striking early on in his fights as well. On the feet at range, he is very patient and clearly knows the power he possesses. He mainly strikes out of the southpaw stance and has a pretty solid kicking game.
Badat uses his back leg very well, as he will use his teep like a body jab at times, but will also mix in a really heavy roundhouse kick. Typically, using those kicks will open up opportunities to strike with the hands, where he has big power. Badat isn’t out there putting together these beautiful, fluid combos, but he isn’t just winging shots either. Most of his striking with the hands is used to set up takedowns or to intercept opponents when they step into range.
His knockout of Jailson Sousa to win the EFC belt is a great example of his striking at its best. For the majority of the time the fight lasted, Badat was on his back foot, using his kicks as he hunted for a big moment or a takedown. Sousa got a bit lazy and stepped into range with his right arm out, reaching for Badat, and Badat made him pay. After clipping his opponent with a left hook, Badat was like a downhill train that couldn’t be stopped, as he put Sousa out brutally.
However, while his striking can be effective, his two losses have come against guys that were able to negate Badat’s grappling and control where the fight took place. The other red flag is that in both fights, Badat’s opponent was able to extend the fight and make him go all three rounds. In his 12 pro and amateur fights, Badat only left the first round three times. Oddly enough, the three fights were one after another, and the two that went the distance, Badat lost.
On the ground is where Badat really shows his skills. His wrestling overall is good, but not elite, as a couple guys have been able to stifle his takedown attempts and get takedowns on him. For the most part, though, trying to get Badat to the ground isn’t a great idea, as that means his opponent is entering his world. The best example I can give of that is when Luke Michaels tried to grapple Badat in his first title defense. Michaels was able to get the fight to the ground and even momentarily took Badat’s back, but in the blink of an eye, Badat reversed the position to end up on top. From there, Badat unloaded great ground and pound before sinking in the rear-naked choke.
My favorite part of Badat’s grappling isn’t really a skill, but more his intent once the fight hits the mat. When he is on top or in an advantageous position, Badat doesn’t give his opponent any time to breathe. Badat is either advancing his position, landing brutal ground and pound, or hunting for the submission. His record is the evidence of this, as he has not seen the scorecards in any of his eight victories.
With another win on Thursday, Badat will have defended the belt for a third time, while extending his win streak to five. Just like former EFC welterweight champion Themba Gorimbo was able to find himself in the UFC, if Badat keeps putting together impressive finishes, he can’t be too far away himself.
